Smartbunker Rides Out UK Earthquake

The UK was hit by its largest earthquake in 25 years earlier today as a quake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale was felt from Northern Ireland to Edinburgh. The tremors hit especially close to home for the staff at Smartbunker, a data center located in a former NATO command bunker in Lincolnshire, just 30 miles from the epicenter of the quake. Officials said Smartbunker was unaffected by the quake and continued normal operations.

"We could barely have been closer to an earthquake whose effects were felt as far away as Amsterdam, yet the operation of the data centre was completely unaffected," said Kelly Smith, managing director of Smartbunker. "The facility was designed and constructed to be shock resistant to counter the effects of a nuclear blast. Our customers rely on us to protect their data and ensure continuity of IT services, come what may. We promise all of our customers 100 percent guaranteed uptime. This event lends that promise its ringing endorsement."

Scientists at The British Geological Survey (BGS) said while the tremor was small on a global scale, the earthquake as a "rare beast" and "significant" for the UK. They said they believed the earthquake could have been caused by an old fault line in the East Midlands rupturing.

The 30,000 square foot Smartbunker data center provides managed hosting services. The power used within the 30,000 square feet data centre is generated entirely from wind energy, making Smartbunker the first UK data centre with zero carbon emissions (not to be confused with "carbon neutral" facilities using the purchase of carbon offsetting).